Love: A Heroes Fic
by M. Joseph Day
Summary: In honor of Valentine's Day, our Heroes get together at Christmas in an AU 10 years-from-now future. Gabriel/Claire, Matt/Daphne, Nathan/Tracy, Peter/Emma, Hiro/Charlie, Mohinder/Maya, and a lot of kids.


[This is an AU future, because Daphne, Nathan, and Charlie are alive (and Charlie isn't old).]

Photographs and paintings lined the cream walls of the relatively big house. They were pictures of a man with horn-rimmed glasses and his family, a pregnant blonde woman with a much older man, the same man and woman with a baby, and the same man and woman with a blonde child. Most of the paintings had been painted beforehand; the man in the most recent pictures had painted the future way back when.

"But Gabe, it's Christmas and we haven't had a family photo taken in seven years," complained Claire Gray to her husband, who laid on the couch behind her, rubbing her once-again pregnant stomach. It was the third time she'd been pregnant.

"I don't want to take another picture where you might possibly puke on the photographer. Like what happened when you were pregnant with Sandy," explained Sylar.

Claire laughed and put her hand on top of her husband's. "That doesn't mean it will happen again, Gabriel. Last time we had just eaten chili dogs, and Sandy didn't agree with it."

"You just ate waffles. Do you think Nathan will agree with that later?" asked Gabe.

Claire stopped his hand from moving, looking up at him. "Everyone happens to love waffles, sweetie. Plus, I threw up on the photographer five years ago. There's better nausea medication now. And there's probably a different photographer."

"Sorry. I just don't feel it's a good idea. We'll just take pictures of the whole family here. It's Christmas, so just sit back and wait until everyone gets here," said Gabe.

The doorbell rang, and Gabe carefully moved around Claire and went to answer the door. He unlocked and opened it. There was Matt Parkman holding a whole lot of giftboxes in his arms. Gabriel gasped. "Let me help you with those. Please, Matt."

Gabe moved his hand, and presents flew out of Matt's arms and under the tree. Matt sighed. "Thank you, Gabe. I'm getting too old to do heavy-lifting."

"You are not," said Daphne Parkman, who hit his arm as she came into the living room behind him. She was quickly followed by her eleven-year-old stepson Matt Parkman Jr. and her adopted twenty-one-year-old daughter Molly Walker. Molly held the hand of Daphne and Matt's five-year-old daughter Daniella. They all walked into the living room. Claire got up off the couch and hugged Daphne.

Daphne put her hand on Claire's pregnant stomach. "Wow, Claire. When are you due?"

"The first of next month. He's going to be a New Year baby," answered Claire. "We're naming him Nathan Peter Gray, after my dad and uncle, of course."

"Someone say Nathan?" asked Nathan himself. He came through the door, and Claire hugged him tightly. He was followed close behind by Tracy Petrelli.

Claire put her fingers through her father's hair. "Wow. You're getting really gray."

"And you're getting really pregnant. Look at that baby bump. I love that you're naming him after me. I haven't even always been there for you and you still take me into account," said Nathan.

"You're my father. And we've gotten closer ever since my other father was killed, so I don't wanna hear this pity stuff," said Claire. "Is Peter coming?"

"Yeah. I think he just teleported here actually," said Tracy.

The front door opened for the third time in ten minutes, and Peter and Emma walked through it. Emma was pregnant too. A little bit less pregnant than Claire, though. Claire hugged Peter.

"Hey, Claire," said Peter. "Love the decorations outside. You do those yourself."

"Very funny, Peter," laughed Claire.

Gabriel came up and gave Peter and Emma hugs. "I'm glad you could make it on such short notice."

"It helps when we just had Hiro and Charlie at the house. All I had to do was copy his power and teleport here. We got a hotel room and then just teleported over," explained Peter.

"Speaking of Hiro, where is that funny guy?" asked Gabe.

"Right here," said Hiro from the doorway. He and Charlie stood there, their twin nine-year-old daughters Elizabeth and Mary standing to the side. Both girls had red hair like their mother, and Elizabeth had a small version of her father's glasses.

Gabriel hugged Hiro, and Claire hugged Charlie. Charlie laughed. "We almost got lost. Hiro had some trouble driving."

"I usually teleport, not drive," said Hiro. Claire and Gabriel laughed at him.

The door opened yet again, and Mohinder, Maya, and two boys stepped in. The two boys were the eight and seven-year-old children of the Suresh's, Alejandro and Chandra.

After everyone had arrived, all of the adults sat down in the living room and all of the children went upstairs. Nathan sighed. "Too bad Ma's not here this time."

"Sucks that she passed away two days before Christmas Eve," said Claire.

Nathan nodded sadly. To brighten up the mood, Matt said, "How about a little charades?"

"Good idea," said Gabriel.

"No, you're not playing," Claire said.

"Aw, why not, honey?"

"Because you'll understand what people are charading right away. Not like you can help it. That also means Matt can't play either," explained Claire. "Because he can read the charader's mind."

"Aw, not fair," complained Matt. "I'm the one that suggested it."

"I know, Matt," said Daphne. "But it is fair, because you're a telepath. I love you."

Matt and Daphne kissed.

Claire became ansy. "Okay, forget charades. Let's get the kids down here and take a family picture."

"Family?" asked Matt.

"Yes, family," said Mohinder. "We've been through so much together, we might as well all be related. Kids!"

The sound of a stampede sounded throughout the house. It was the sound of many kids' feet on Claire and Gabriel's wooden steps. They all came into the living room, which was barely big enough to fit them all. When they had all found places in the photograph, Gabe set the timer on the camera and came to sit behind Claire. The flash went off, and the picture took.

"Oh, I wish I could see it right now," said Noah, Claire and Gabriel's ten-year-old son.

"You can," said Gabe. He opened the drawer next to the couch and pulled out a rolled-up piece of canvas. He opened it to let the family see what the picture would look like. "I painted this three weeks ago."

Everyone liked the painting. They all got up to eat.

After dinner, Claire started on the dishes. Gabriel came up behind her and hugged her around the waist. "I love you, Claire."

She kissed him. "I love you too, Gabriel."

[Was originally started as a Valentine's Day fic, but turned out to be about love at Christmas time. Tell me if you like it.]


End file.
